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What is copyright infringement
What Is Copyright Infringement? The Layperson's Copyright Primer
Copyright laws are constantly changing, and knowing exactly what copyright infringement is, whether you’re creating an eBook, publishing articles, using music as a backtrack to your podcast - or what have you - is essential to selling your online media. Although the laws change from one jurisdiction to another, knowing the basic rules of copyright infringement will ensure you’re following the proper rules of engagement when it comes to creating your works. Before you make any final decisions regarding the use of a work that has been copyrighted, please contact a copyright attorney to ensure you’re following the law – this will keep you from being sued or, even worse, punished in a court of law.
What is Copyright Infringement?
Copyright infringement, as defined by Wikipedia.org, states: “Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is protected by intellectual property rights law particularly the copyright in a manner that violates one of the original copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. The slang term bootleg (derived from the use of the shank of a boot for the purposes of smuggling) is often used to describe illicitly copied material.”
So, what is copyright infringement in plain English? It means that if you’re not allowed to use something, then don’t use it – plain and simple. It can be very simple to get permission to use a work – many times you’ll be able to use a ‘sample’ of music or excerpt of written work for a nominal fee, or small attribution. However, if you do not have the permission of the copyright holder – whether it’s an author or a publishing house – you can be sued for copyright infringement or worse.
What is Copyright Infringement in America?
In many jurisdictions, such as the United States of America, this act is known as a strict liability crime or tort (a tort is a civil wrong – not a criminal wrong). This means that the person who infringes the copyright - whether intentionally or not - will be responsible for the damage or loss. Also, the prosecutor (in criminal court) or plaintiff (in civil court) must only prove that the act of copying was committed by the defendant – they do not need to prove guilty intent. This means, even if you had no intention of committing copyright fraud or infringement, you can (and in present times, in many cases, WILL) be prosecuted, even if you used the material in good faith.
What is Copyright Infringement in action?
Many cases of copyright infringement are difficult to see to the layperson, because the violation is not limited to exact copying. In many cases, when something is inspired by another thing – such as in music, when the inspiration of one song is used to create an entirely different song – it’s difficult to see where the new product or ‘thing’ has crossed the line to something illegal. Some works aren’t even protected by copyright, such as compilation of facts that lack the creativity necessary to be covered by copyright, or works that are in the public domain because the copyright has expired. Knowing the difference is often very difficult to see, and because of this we’ve seen a number of copyright infringement cases in recent years, especially in tandem with the music industry.
As you can see, copyright infringement is a very difficult, albeit necessary, act to define. However, if you make sure that you’re using works that are in the public domain, or have long since been out of copyright (think Beethoven or Frankenstein) you’ll be safe. Do you fair research, and if you have any questions contact a copyright lawyer and ask ‘what is copyright infringement’ to learn the most up-to-date information for your jurisdiction.
Web Hosting - All About Domain Names "What's in a name?" Shakespeare asks in Romeo and Juliet. In the case of your web site the answer is: quite a lot. A domain name is the English (or other) language designator for your site. Because of the way the Internet functions, that name is associated with an IP address, a numeric identifier that computers and network components use to connect a browser to a web site. It's not mandatory that a site has a name. But directing visitors by IP address can quickly generate difficulties. Having an IP address IS mandatory, since it's ultimately the way a web site is located by other computers and network software. In the early days of the Internet the name was chosen carefully in order to help a person remember the URL. That made it easier to type, too. With hotspots on a page, great search engines, social networking and other contemporary tools, that's not as important now. But from a marketing perspective, it still helps to have a good name. It's still beneficial to have a site called 'CheapTVs.com' if what you sell are inexpensive TV sets. Calling your site, 'InexpensiveElectronicVisualDisplayDevices.com' may describe your business in some way, but it's a little harder to refer a new person to your site. Which name you choose can, therefore, affect how much traffic your site gets, how soon. Sooner or later, if you have information and/or products/services that people want, word will get around. But having a good name can certainly help. Love them or hate them, the Google company chose well. Of course, the fact is that there are millions of web sites around the world. That means, you don't necessarily get the name of your first choice. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is the internationally recognized authority for managing IP addresses across the worldwide Internet, along with the top-level domain name-parts (.com, .net, .org, .edu, and so forth). But registering a name is done by simply contacting any of a hundred organizations that work as intermediaries to establish and track the names. GoDaddy, Register.com, Network Solutions and a great many others provide the service for anywhere from free to a few dollars per month or year. You contact them by navigating to their web site. Then, using a feature they all provide, you can select a possible name. They use something called whois and other software to determine if the name is already claimed. Or, you can check yourself at www.whois.com. Registration is for a limited time, but typically renewable in perpetuity provided you pay the (usually annual) fee. You may have to go through several choices to find a domain name that isn't already in use. With so many millions of sites, the odds of you getting your first choice is slim, unless you have a highly unusual imagination. But, it's also true that domains tend to die or expire. As they do, the name becomes available for use by someone new. A method for getting on a 'waiting list' is available. You register the name you want and if and when the name becomes available, you are offered the chance to claim it. Naturally, there's competition even on the waiting list for 'good' names. There are many different ways of establishing priority that vary by company. At any given time there are thousands of so-called auctions going on to bid on names. Give some thought to your new domain name and research its availability, but don't stress over it. The name isn't everything. After all, if Google had built a search engine that delivered usable results only 10% of the time, their name would be mud. Copyright music consecutive notes Copyright Music, Consecutive Notes, and Fair Use When it comes to copyright music, consecutive notes, and lyrics are all covered under the blanket of copyright protection. Once you've registered your copyright you have legal recourse should someone steal or 'borrow' any part of your music without permission. Just so you understand, most of sites online that you visit when checking out the lyrics to your favorite song are actually infringing on the copyright of the author and the recording artist. Not only are the sites that offer lyrics guilty of infringing on the copyright music, consecutive notes and all so are the sites that offer written music, chords, and tabs. It is not legal to use any part of the song that isn't covered by 'fair use' without the express permission of the holder of the copyright. It makes things a little difficult for most people and it is often hard for many to distinguish what qualifies as fair use from what is actually copyright infringement. Copyright music, consecutive notes included keeps artists paid as most of them live on royalties rather than fat cat advances, fair use will not take those future payments from the authors for the sake of personal entertainment. Fair use was once thought to mean that if you weren't making money from the copy or use of materials then it was allowable. This is one of the arguments that was used when defending massive file sharing servers, the defense however falls flat of the law. It is illegal to share copyright music, consecutive notes, lyrics, tabs, chords, or any other part that is part of the music and covered by copyright. The fact is that the only case where the copying of music is clearly allowable is when used for non-profit education and educational research, for the purpose of criticism, commentary, and news reporting. According to the letter of the law ripping your CDs is an infringement of copyright. The result of massive file sharing has prompted new laws to address the problem and provide a more clear definition of what is not allowable as far as copyright music consecutive notes and any other part of a song are concerned. According to the amendments you must have the express permission of the performer to fix the sounds or images into any type of phonorecord, to transmit these sounds to others, or to offer to distribute, sell, or rent any of the copyrighted material. That about sums up file sharing in a nutshell and clearly establishes the practice as illegal. Artist copyright music consecutive notes, lyrics, and performances in order to protect those things from abuse, misuse, and to protect their interests. While some may be artists that perform for the sake of the art, most of them are not independently wealthy and need the income that results from the sales of their music. Many have families to feed as well as fabulous lifestyles. Regardless of their inherent needs for the funds, they've provided a service (entertainment) that we place a certain value on and they deserve to get paid for the services they provide. The copyright music, consecutive notes, new music, and future music depends on people honoring the spirit of current music copyrights. If you haven't noticed entertainers are more often than not interested in the money that is their reward for entertaining. If that wasn't the case, NFL players wouldn't make more money than many corporate CFO's. You might also have noticed that players and entertainers often stop playing and entertaining when they do not think they are getting what they are worth. If you don't recall, the NHL skipped an entire season a few years back over salary negotiations. This, more than many things, should drive home the point that if things such as copyright music consecutive notes and otherwise aren't respected and observed our favorite performers will stop producing new material for us to enjoy. |